


I Will Keep You Safe and Sound

by littlepinkbow



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Slavery, Angst, Famous Louis, Fluff, M/M, POV Liam, POV Zayn, Slave Harry, Slave Liam, Slave Zayn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-09-23
Updated: 2015-10-04
Packaged: 2018-04-22 23:38:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,355
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4854998
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/littlepinkbow/pseuds/littlepinkbow
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Liam is entering into slavery and he really, really doesn't understand how this world works.  Zayn's got a great plan and Louis has no idea what's in store for him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. How Did I End Up Here

**Author's Note:**

  * For [asherly89](https://archiveofourown.org/users/asherly89/gifts).



> The title is from 'Guernica' from Brand New. 
> 
> I hope you enjoy - I should have the rest up very soon!

Liam shivered, bringing his arms up to rub over the thin fabric that was covering his biceps. He was sitting in the back of a bus, although it didn’t remind him of any bus he had ever been in before, the seats were worn and hard and everything was dark. Closing his eyes, he leaned forward, resting his head on the seat in front of him and attempting to silence the shiver that was jittering through his mouth. 

Maybe being sold into slavery wouldn’t be so bad. It could be worse, Liam could have let his sister be sold. The thought made him ill, she couldn’t take care of herself, she couldn’t hold her own with whatever sort of person would enter into an agreement like this. It was the right thing to do, it sorted all the debts for his family -- or it would once he was sold -- and his sister was safe, his family was safe and Liam could take care of himself. He couldn’t get someone that awful, could he? There had to be laws, because slave or not, he was still a person. 

When the bus stopped it came with a loud clank, and the voice of a man at the front of the bus, “Come on then. Single file line. Once you’re all inside we will get you prepared for the auction. If you’re not auctioned you’ll stay in the auction house for up to a week. There’s an auction nightly and if at the end of the week you’re unsellable,” his voice trailed off and Liam swallowed thickly at that. Unsellable. He couldn’t be unsellable, he couldn’t let his sister face this same outcome because he wasn’t good enough to be a slave. 

Sitting up straight, Liam curled his fingers around the seat in front of him as he stood up, his head still down as he looked to the side, the brown curls of the potential slave next to him falling into his face. “You okay?” Liam asked, but his voice was hoarse, as if he had never used it before. 

“I’m okay. Are you okay?” The voice was deep, thick like caramel and a moment later the head that the curls belonged to popped up and focused his attention on Liam. “I’m Harry.” 

“I’m Liam.” Liam replied, licking over his lips and clearing his throat quietly, “I’m just nervous. I don’t want to be unsellable or whatever.” He said with a nod towards the front of the bus, the noise at the front of the bus signaling that the other potential slaves were starting to unload off of the bus. 

“You’ll be fine I think.” Harry said with a nod and a glimpse of a smile. “Why’d you decide to do this?” He asked curiously, stepping out into the aisle of the bus to follow the people in front of him off. 

“Not really a life goal, is it? My parents had debt. It was either me or my sister. Figured I could take care of myself a bit better.” Liam explained and he stepped out behind Harry, his head still ducked slightly as he followed him off the bus. 

“Me too, yeah. We’ll be okay won’t we?” Harry asked, but he sounded more insecure than confident and the question just made a pit of worry settle in Liam’s stomach. 

When he had signed all the documents, essentially, signed himself over to become the property of someone else, there was no mention of being unsellable. There was no mention of this not working and really, now that Liam thought about it, the documents that he signed were really ambiguous and maybe he really should have read the fine print. Liam looked up just in time to miss running into the doorway as they entered the auction house, a large, sprawling building that looked almost Victorian. Liam curled his hands into fists in an effort to stop his hands from shaking. 

Once they had all been shuffled into a room, a large door shut behind them and Liam finally let himself have a look at the people around him. All male, all close in age to himself and in a sickening comforting way, everyone else looked just as terrified as him. Reaching up he pushed his fingers through his hair and sighed as he leaned back against the wall. 

“‘Ello lads,” A voice rang through the crowd of people just after the door opened and then shut again a moment later. “I’m here to get you lot sorted for the auction, my name’s Zayn and I’m a slave just like the rest of you so don’t go thinking about trying to hurt me or anything.” His voice was so monotone, so practiced like he’d probably done this a hundred times. “It’ll be easiest if you all just line up along the wall and let me work my way down. You might not like what I do, but if you want to be sold, well, you get it.” Zayn spoke, pulling his bag off his shoulder and digging through it to pull a few things out. 

Liam looked over to Harry who was standing on his right and shrugged, “I wonder what they’re going to do to us.” He said quietly, rolling his shoulders back so they were pressed flat against the wall and his feet were just a handful of centimeters away from the wall. 

Harry looked like he was jittering, shivering against the wall, “I don’t know. I just hope that it doesn’t hurt. I’m a huge baby,” he said softly, reaching up and pushing his fingers through his curls before rocking from one foot to another. 

“I won’t let him hurt you. I’m right here,” Liam said, reaching over and nudging Harry’s shoulder gently before leaning back against the wall, “I mean, not that I can help you much past here, but, yeah.” He said, his voice going soft and almost sad as he looked down at his feet. 

“Ready then?” Zayn’s voice asked from directly in front of Liam and he reached up to hook his finger under Liam’s chin, lifting his head just slightly. 

“Haven’t really got a choice, have I?” Liam said plainly, shrugging and lifting his head to look at Zayn. “Don’t make me look ridiculous.” 

“Oh.” Zayn said, pressing his lips together and opening his mouth again, “I. Not today. Go wait by the door. You can go to tomorrow’s auction.” His words were firm and he lifted his hand to point towards the large door they had walked through earlier. 

“No.” Liam said, shaking his head and standing his ground. He was determined not to let Zayn push him around because just like Zayn had said, he was a slave just like them. “I need to be auctioned.” Liam reiterated, furrowing his brows together slightly. 

“Just go by the door. I’ll explain later,” Zayn said, giving Liam a look that was somewhat resemblant of a glare before he moved on to Harry, immediately starting with paint. 

“This is fucking ridiculous.” Liam said angrily, glaring and glancing to make sure Harry looked okay before turning to stomp over towards the door. In the back of his mind, he just imagined his sister having to go through this same thing and Zayn really better have a good reason for his actions. 

By the time Zayn had finished styling -- that was term Liam used lightly -- he mostly was covering them all in paint and glitter, although it did look very nice, all things considered he made his way over to Liam, “Trust me alright?” Zayn said, shifting his eyes to look up at Liam. 

“I don’t know what you’re on about. I don’t know you. I’m not going to trust you.” Liam snapped, crossing his arms over his chest and setting nothing less than the firmest glare he had on Zayn, which admittedly, was hard, when he met Zayn’s caramel eyes and strong jawbones. 

“Listen, alright.” Zayn said, scowling slightly and pushing Liam back away from the other slaves, his fingers curling at Liam’s shirt. “I’m trying to help you,” and just then the large door they had entered through opened and two men came in to start ushering all of the prepared slaves out. “Fuck, shit, move.” Zayn said, jumping slightly at the men’s voices and shoving Liam behind, of all things, a massive drape hanging from the nearest window. “Please, please just be quiet, you’ll get us both in trouble.” Zayn’s voice was raspy and close to a whisper as he turned to focus on the men who started speaking to him. 

Liam was positively fuming, partially because he had a drape over his face and partially because clearly Zayn had lost his mind. The only thing that was going through his mind was that he would be sent home and his sister would have to return in his place and he would have completely failed his family. 

When the loud door closed again, Zayn audibly exhaled before pulling back the drape. “Listen, I’m sorry. It’s just that I, well, I can’t explain I just need to hide you.” He said, his voice slightly sheepish and his cheeks going red as he shrugged his shoulders. 

“Hide me? No! They’ll send me back home. You can’t do that to me, I’m going with them,” Liam said, shaking Zayn off of him and heading for the door. 

“They won’t let you be sold. Not if you’re not properly done up. Or they’ll sell you to someone awful who won’t take care of you, please just, stop.” Zayn’s voice got louder as he chased after Liam and grabbed his arm. 

“Why are you trying to fuck this up for me? I don’t even fucking know you and you’re fucking this up. You’re going to fuck up my family because you’re mental or whatever.” Liam snapped, turning around and looking at Zayn before huffing out a breath, “But I guess now you’ve not given me any choice other than doing what you want me to do. So I guess when you said you weren’t like them you were just spewing shit because you’re exactly like them.” Liam growled, yanking his arm away from Zayn and crossing them over his chest. 

Zayn opened his mouth to speak, but when nothing came out he snapped it shut again, doing the same thing three times before shaking his head. “Please don’t. I’m not like them. Please trust me.” Zayn was nearly begging, stepping closer to Liam, but this time not reaching out to touch him. 

“Whatever can you just do whatever it is you plan on doing with me?” Liam said, not buying into feeling apologetic towards Zayn at all. “Are you going to feed me or just lock me in a closet somewhere because you’re a complete dick?” 

Zayn frowned, reaching up and pushing his hands through his hair, “Listen, I can’t tell you right now. Just please. Come on. I’ll get you sorted somewhere and I’ll bring you something to eat. Please just trust me.” Zayn had probably repeated himself thirty times and still Liam kept the same irritated expression. 

“Whatever. You’re going to do whatever you want anyway.” Liam said, but when Zayn moved to head out of the room he followed him. There was part of Liam that wanted to trust Zayn because really, what did he have to lose, but he was still angry. He was still angry that Zayn wouldn’t tell him what was going on. 

Zayn found an upstairs room, a small, very plain bedroom with nothing more than a bed and a bedside table next to it and he nodded Liam into the room, “I’m going to lock you inside. There’s a bathroom through the door, please don’t make a fuss. I’ll bring you food and stuff and I’ll come get you as soon as I get here before the auction tomorrow. Please.” Zayn’s eyes were wide and pleading as he looked at Liam. 

“Are you sure you’re nothing like them?” Liam huffed sarcastically but he turned and went into the room, stopping for only a moment to dramatically slam the door in Zayn’s face. 

When Zayn returned it was to drop off a bagful of food and drinks and while Liam was grateful for the food he was sure to not make it known to Zayn that he was appreciative.


	2. Zayn's Plan

Zayn was exhausted when he left the auction house, he loved that his owner let him have a job, but auction weeks were always stressful, long and grueling. Not to mention, now Zayn had a potential slave locked away in what he hoped would turn out to be a good situation. 

He waited under the awning of the auction house until he saw the car that was meant for him, ducking his head down and jogging the few steps to the car before pulling the door open and getting in the back seat. The drive home wasn’t long, only about 15 minutes, but Zayn couldn’t stop himself from bouncing his feet on the floor of the car excessively. 

“Lou? I’m home.” Zayn called out into the massive house when he got home, following the sound of a cabinet closing to know that his owner, Louis, was in the kitchen, probably making a cup of tea. Zayn had an immediately pang of guilt, he should have been home taking care of his owner, but just after Louis had told Zayn to never call him master again, he had told him that he could make his own tea. 

“How was the auction?” Louis asked, looking up when Zayn entered the kitchen, his knee bandaged up and a tired expression on his face. 

“Oh, Lou, sir, are you okay?” Zayn said, dropping his bag and immediately making his way to Louis, ducking down and touching over the bandage on his knee gently, his eyes flicking up to look at the other male, “I’m so sorry I wasn’t home.” 

“Happened at the game, didn’t it? I’m fine. Just a strain,” Louis explained, stepping back and motioning for Zayn to stand back up. “Got the once over from the trainer and she says I just need a bit of rest.” 

“I can finish the tea,” Zayn said obediently, tipping his head and licking over his lips as he watched Louis. “Please go sit down. And I wasn’t ignoring your question, the auction was well. I need to speak with you about it, though.” Zayn licked over his lips and took over the tea making, making a mug for himself and for Louis. 

Zayn had been adopted by Louis a little more than a year before. Having gotten himself into the wrong situations too many times, Zayn was one of the few people who volunteered to become a slave. He knew the money from whoever purchased him would help his family, but more than that, he knew that it would provide him the structure and expectations that he really needed. What he hadn’t expected was Louis. Louis who was understanding, kind, supportive and who was everything opposite of what he typically heard about owners. When Zayn had first moved in, he had been quiet, avoidant even and Louis had just let him have his space. He had provided him everything he could have ever imagined and become a friend to Zayn. He wasn’t what Zayn was expecting when he had decided to become a slave, but he was better than Zayn could have ever imagined. He knew when the right times to support Zayn were and at the same time knew exactly when to provide him with the structure he needed. When he turned from the kettle, his eyes were wide and fond and he met Louis’ eyes, that were staring back at him with almost confusion clouding them. 

“Did you hear me?” Louis asked, raising an eyebrow and reaching up for his mug as Zayn made his way to the table with it. 

“No, I’m sorry. I was thinking. What did you say?” Zayn said, his cheeks flushing as he took the seat across from Louis, both of his hands wrapping around his mug to keep them warm as he shook the thoughts from his mind, letting all of his focus settle on Louis. 

“I asked what you needed to talk to me about. You look a bit like you’re up to something,” Louis said, a grin settled on his lips. 

“It’s just that I did something.” Zayn started and he immediately felt guilty about the situation he had left Liam in, “Remember a few months ago? When you spoke about a second slave?” Zayn had forgotten his mug in favour of nervously twisting his hands together. 

“I do remember that. What have you done?” Louis asked and although he was curious, Zayn knew he would be worried that Zayn had done something illegal, seeing as he was responsible for everything he did. 

“I found the perfect person. And he was up for auction yesterday. So I,” Zayn paused, flinching slightly because even if Louis hadn’t ever hurt him, he was sure that this was maybe a punishable offense. “I hid him. In the auction house. I locked him up in one of the rooms upstairs because he’s so fit I know if I had prepared him for auction someone would have taken him.” 

Louis’ face fell as he looked at Zayn, “You did what? Zayn we could be in loads of trouble for that. I could be in loads of trouble for that. You know I only give you the liberties that I do because I trust you. You can’t break that trust, Zayn. Do you understand me?” 

“Yes sir, I understand. I’m sorry.” Zayn said, ducking his head down in embarrassment because Louis was right. He was certain that if Liam was found, if Liam told what happened they would take him away from Louis. “I’m sorry. He’s just so fit and he’s feisty and he’s strong and I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I could go sneak in and let him out.” Zayn suggested. 

“Zayn.” Louis’ voice was firm, disappointed and slightly angry, “You absolutely can not do that. That would just be even more trouble if anyone found out. You can’t just do things like this. You know that I allow you anything you want, but you can’t disrespect me.” 

“Sir, I’m sorry. I know that what I did was wrong.” Zayn said, his head still ducked down and his eyes wide, peering up at Louis. “Please forgive me. I’ll prepare him for the auction tomorrow. I’m sorry. Please don’t be upset at me.” Zayn sighed and with the amount of times he had begged in the he was exhausted. 

“Just go to bed and I’ll deal with this tomorrow.” Louis said and with the dismissal, Zayn got up from the table and left the room. Typically, he shared a room with Louis, but he having upset Louis he decided to retreat to his own room, hiding under his covers and hoping that he could get through to the next morning without Liam freaking out. 

When Zayn woke up in the morning the house was quiet. Quiet and dark and he sighed, hoping that he hadn’t made Louis really angry. When he got himself out of bed he reached for his phone and taped to the screen was a note. 

“Z, 

Turns out I’ve got this slave who can’t keep us out of trouble. Make sure I know who the one you want is. You know I’d do anything for you. See you tonight. Can’t wait to see your work. 

xx L” 

Zayn grinned at the note and he was reminded that he really did have the best owner. He wasn’t sure if he and Louis would have ever met had they not met the way they did, but daily he was glad that he was given Louis. That Louis had wanted him. He knew that Louis would support him and more than anything he knew that Louis would love Liam. He just hoped that Liam would feel the same way.


End file.
